From Home Inspector to Agent

[Graham Sullivan]

Hello All,

This is my first question to the community and I will try to keep it brief. I have been a fan of this site/ the podcasts for years. Three years ago I decided to transition into real estate from my career at Bose in order to gain experience in the market and begin investing. I am very handy and have done one "live in flip" which gave my spouse and I the funds to adopt our first child (this went a long way to show the power of real estate investing to my husband). We are currently living in the second "live in flip" project whilst preparing for the addition to our family. (which could be any day now). My aim is to "buy and hold-value add" in the long run. I sought a career that would be relevant to real estate while affording me the time to do projects on the side and build my portfolio. When I left Bose, I took the MA real estate agent class and passed the test with the first try. I also took the MA/ NH home inspector courses and passed on the 1st try as well. I am now a very confident home inspector working for a company and I have established a great reputation with agents in my area. Many have told me I would be a very successful agent if I decided to take the plunge.  After much thought I have decided to become an agent. I enjoy being a home inspector, however its more of a solo job then a networking opportunity. Plus I have always been good at sales (my background was in retail sales and store management before home inspections). I am glad I took the home inspector path as now I can size a house up fairly quickly and I know that will go a long way for me in the future.  

My question is where should I set my sights as a new agent? Should I start with residential sales or head straight to a focus area of working with investors? I hear on the podcast all the time that it is difficult to find agents who specialize in working with investors. I have searched around and I have found plenty of residential sales opportunities but not having much luck with agencies that specialize in investment properties. Is there such a thing or would it be better to learn the traditional ropes at the beginning and focus on such a client as I progress? 

Thanks to everyone who make this environment possible.